Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
Asymmetric cost of quality, sourcing, and vertical differentiation
Jie Ning1, Zhibin {Ben} Yang2
1Case Western Reserve University, United States of America; 2University of Oregon, United States of America
Should firms differentiate quality to soften competition, or equalize it by sourcing? We study sourcing by inefficient firm 2 from efficient firm 1. We show firm 2 prefers sourcing, if it well improves quality. Otherwise no sourcing even for free. Firm 1 averts sourcing if it has large quality leadership under no-sourcing and low horizontal differentiation. While sourcing pools resource to firm 1, it may yield lower quality than no-sourcing for consumers if firm 1 has small efficiency advantage.
When worse is better - strategic choice of vendors with differentiated capabilities in a complex co-creation environment
The growing complexity of consulting, new product development, and information technology projects has led firms to increasingly adopt the strategy of collaborative value cocreation with their vendors. Research in this field overlooks value cocreation that often involves a client firm engaging with more than one vendor. We bridge this gap by studying a cocreation environment involving a client, a primary vendor, and a potential secondary vendor.
Sourcing innovation: when to own and when to control your supplier?
Juergen Mihm1, Zhi Chen2, Jochen Schlapp3
1INSEAD; 2National University of Singapore; 3Frankfurt School of Finance and Management
Firms rely on suppliers for innovation, often through procurement or innovation contests. Supplier ownership and control impact contest outcomes. We analyze the effects on buyer's profits and product innovation, identifying when they align or diverge. Our findings inform optimal supplier base structure and explain recent industry developments. Highly profitable structures may hinder innovation, prompting firms to prioritize long-term innovativeness over short-term profits.
